How to use the Celetron Powerseeker Motor Drive

[@DRPowell]

I watched this video prior to setting up my Astro Master 130 and have a few things to add. First, it is only necessary to remove the two front screws in order to install or change the battery. Second, I would slightly loosen the small Allen set screw on the black coupler, just enough to allow it to slide for alignment. Install the motor on the scope mount and tighten mounting screw only until snug. It may be necessary to rotate the right ascension (RA) knob slightly to align the flat section under the thumb screw. Tighten the thumbscrew. When all components are aligned properly, then tighten mounting screw, then small set screw in coupler. Remember to loosen thumbscrew during manual adjustment of RA. Tighten when using tracking motor. Don't lose screw!

[@scottanthony4511]

I was wondering if there was a way to loosen the motor for periodic use of the manual tracking cable for RA. So you just loosen the set screw, right? And then use the manual tracking cable for RA?

[@DRPowell]

Scott Anthony - You would loosen the chrome knurled thumb screw that secures the black coupler to the RA shaft in order to use the control cable. The Allen set screw should not need to be loosened or removed after initial setup. I would recommend applying grease to the thumb screw threads to guard against it falling out, or to remove it completely and keep in pocket or eyepiece case. It would also help to put a black line or dot on RA shaft inline with flat spot, to aid in alignment when tightening or reinstalling thumb screw.

[@siddharthmadiraju7530]

I have a question and I hope you can help me with it. (don't get intimidated by the size of the comment!!) My family and I bought the Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ-MD (Motor Drive) Telescope a few days ago and have completely fixed it up. Our telescope came with a motor (we choose to buy the motor.) and we have been looking for many tutorials on how to use it. I really understood your first part (about the Northern and Southern hemisphere and the telescope pointing to north with the weights between east and west.) but have lost track of what you were saying in the second part (the actual calibration.). It would be really helpful for us if you could give a explained, well, explanation on how exactly the motor works. Also, it would be really good if you could help us out on how to use Celestron's software called Starry Night. (You are the only person who made a video on this and have been recently looking through the comments so sorry for dumping all my questions on you...). We have also been wondering if we could somehow connect the telescope to the software so we can navigate celestial objects from the PC. I'm pretty sure many other people around the world are also in need of help about telescopes from someone who seems to know a lot of them. Thank you so much in advance P.S --> We live in the Northern Hemisphere (if you need it somehow.) Thank you so much again!! - All the telescope owners in need of a good guide :))

[@nihalreddy9443]

We also bought the same telescope a few months ago and have been really hopeful for answers bro. Please answer the above person's question as "many people around the world are in need of a proper guide"... Thank you lol

[@newtscamander6726]

I have the same problem eh. It would be nice if you could help us out. :)

[@MatthewHKnight]

I don't the Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ-MD but I'm pretty sure it goes on the same way it would for this 80EQ. Telescope needs to be balanced meaning the Optical Tube doesn't do what is happening in this video at 6:59 time stamp otherwise the motor drive will have a problem trying to track however if you're trying to look at some thing in the south sky and you do is unloosen the knob that will allow the optical tube to face south without moving the mount. Then find the object you are looking for in the south for example and tighten down the knob and then let the motor drive run should hopefully keep the object in the field of the eyepiece. You can not hook up this telescope to a computer sadly, You will need to either buy a telescope with a AUX hookup or a USB hookup and them kinda telescopes are pricey.

[@siddharthmadiraju7530]

@@MatthewHKnight Thank you so much for your reply. It has helped us a lot. :))

[@demej00]

If you have it accurately polar aligned and the motor speed just right, it should be good for short camera exposures I would think.

[@AngelArgumedo]

Hi. Can i use this to do long exposure photos? Something like 2 ir 3 minutes exposures for 20mm eyepiece...is It feasible? Or it would be a hassle to do that?

[@MatthewHKnight]

Not even remotely possible.

[@mad_clown475]

@@MatthewHKnight why?

[@ChaniandwanichiYuknaka-yp2fd]

@@MatthewHKnight why tho?

[@cosmicpanther63]

If your polar alignment is good and the magnification is low, I bet 15-30 seconds is max

[@Nottsboy24]

This is a great video for beginners ☺ clear skies my friend :)

[@adityakarade8034]

Yes bro clear skies hope u have clear skies

[@MatthewHKnight]

Well the telescope needs to be facing North So my advice is get a app for your phone hopefully phone has a built in gyroscope so that the app will work and find the North star called Polaris. Make sure the OTA is pointing roughly North and that the telescope is tube is balanced..

[@MrJpm1989]

bought a celestron astromaster 130 and the place where the motor should attach to the telescope is a small hole were the screw should be used. the hole is barely deep enough to let the screw make one rotation. needless to say the motor wont attach to the telescope. just on of those days hu. any ideas , anyone?

[@MatthewHKnight]

Go to a hardware store with the motor and find one that fits and get a bolt as well

[@jjmcwill1881]

so does the motor actually work well in tacking an object hands free

[@MatthewHKnight]

It does obviously it will help to make sure the OTA is balanced but its not hard to re-center manually and then use the motor again the trick is finding the right speed better to use a planet or the moon as a test the key is to keep the object at least in the field of view of the eyepiece if not centered. Take in mind that if someone touches the OTA or bumps the tripod it could might the tracking off however this motor drive isn't technically meant for imaging with would require some patiences.

[@philgolden8619]

Some mounts are unable to face south by design, you should definitely be facing one of your tripod legs north in the northern hemisphere not south (one leg facing south in the southern). But what ever works for you!

[@michaltarabik]

Is it possible to use this as a star tracker when astrophotography?

[@MatthewHKnight]

Not really designed for it this is meant to help you tracker objects the mount isn't really stable for that. The cheapest telescope mount I'd use and not with this tube is a Celestron Advanced VX mount last time I owned one they were like $800 and they are a learning curve astrophotography is not a cheap hobby

[@gure2471]

Can be used in a celestron powerseeker 114eq?

[@СергейВасильевичРахманинов-э8ж]

it makes sense to me that this works when looking at galaxies because they are "stationary" (at least for us) but the moon orbits us in a month so the speed for the motor is different compared to watching the galaxies. is this just accepted as an inaccuracy?

[@av1ator00]

I may be a bit late, but can this be used for a Powerseeker 127eq? When I look on amazon it says it is used for the AstroMaster telescopes. You used it for your powerseeker, so I'm sure they probably have similar mounts.

[@randomdev9976]

In the beginning he said that you sometimes get the powerseeker Variante and sometimes not

[@JanHavel]

My main issue with this drive is those mount knobs or counterweight are always bumping into it when I try to maneuver the telescope somewhere. I suppose there is no solution for that? It seems to quite limit the field of sky I can navigate in.

[@schorschsteinfeger7068]

What is the proper tracking speed, so that it tracks the stars? Like doing long exposures of nebulae or the milky way?

[@MatthewHKnight]

This isn't gonna be able to to do that you're gonna need at least a Celestron Advanced VX mount.

[@senbilverglate9638]

@@MatthewHKnight assuming we do have the proper mount, what would the proper tracking speed be?

[@MatthewHKnight]

@@senbilverglate9638 A Celestron AVX mount is computerized so it will track at the correct speed it needs to automatically, the thing about EQ Goto mounts are is that they can calculate the speed of the object based on the time of year and where you're.

[@DavidRamirez-ck2ph]

You explained it very well, I wonder if there is a universal motor

[@MatthewHKnight]

Well I'm sure someone who is good with circuit boards and possibly Arduino could possibly make their own motor drive and a simple 3D printer for a case to cover the board.

[@RobBob555]

if the earth always rotates at the same speed, why would you need a speed adjustment knob ? cheers

[@MatthewHKnight]

Different eyepiece powers. A lower number like a 40mm could be a little slower speed and still be in the eyepiece field of view but not likely centered. A higher power eyepiece like a 10mm would need a little faster speed to try and keep the object in the eyepiece field of view.

[@흔택짐]

I am plannig to buy this. I have question. once I buy only one moter, Is it enough to takt picture 'ANDROMEDA'? Or Do I have to buy two?

[@MatthewHKnight]

Your gonna need a better telescope setup sadly. If you want pictures like the guys take online these guys spend hours taking different types of captures and then running it in kinda expensive software to make it look like they do in pictures this telescope mount would just barely be good for some planets

[@twang5446]

What feels weird to me is I have to switch it to S to track correctly, but I am in the UK! I’m using Celesteon Astromaster 130EQ

[@andyjd3149]

I have the same telescope and that´s because this motor drive was designed based into eq2 mount. Look for pics and the motor drive is mounted on the left side, eq3 is mounted on the right side, so direction is inverted S->N and N->S

[@twang5446]

@@andyjd3149 Ah I see, that makes a lot more sense. Thanks!

[@michaelcarnevale103]

@@andyjd3149 Wow, thank you!!!!! I was wondering about this.

[@Sztyepadzso]

@@andyjd3149 Jesus, thanks! I am not a stupid person, but since I bought this, I am wondering, why the hell is it working only in the S setting.. I wanted to mount it on the correct side, but as far as I remember(I am not at the telescope currently), there are 2 holes on the other side, with the indicicator mounted on them, made this impossible. My main issue is the speed, as it is very hard to find the correct setting. The motor is a simple DC motor, and the RPM is potential-dependent, turning the knob will increase/decrease it. And -I think- therefore the speed is higly battery-dependent, and as its voltage drops(because of useage and temperature in winter), so will the RPM drop as well. It is not optimal, but I was able to take several astrophoto with it(Orion nebual), but it was exhaustive, as I had to keep it updated through the night. SO. I have decided to upgrade the EQ, at first, with a proper power source: I am using a Parkside Battery+Parkside USB Battery to USB thing(PAA 20 Li-B3), but any powerbank with 2-2.4A USB output will do the trick. The USB cable runs into a boost converter, which transforms it to 9V, and I have soldered a salvaged 9V battery connector to it. This way I am not dependent on a weak 9V battery. But It is not solving my problem with the speed. SO. I am currently building an upgrade with a NEMA 17 + Arduino Nano, which I have already made once, when I was building my own motor drive.

[@frozengamer3030]

I recently purchased one today can you take pictures and stuff like that.

[@MatthewHKnight]

It's not easy because of the tripod.

[@frozengamer3030]

@@MatthewHKnight i just found out aswell that's why I returned it

[@MatthewHKnight]

@@frozengamer3030 better off trying to get a celestron avx mount and a doublet retractor just depends on what you're wanting to take pictures of but I'm telling you starting with the planets you'll end up buying something else for deep space stuff next so better to get it right the first time it is a money pit

[@frozengamer3030]

@@MatthewHKnight yes true

[@salahsana3481]

Good job

[@vimal-vc61234]

Nice video

[@lornaz1975]

Sirius freaks me out. It flickers and seems to flicker in different colors. Its like a UFO coming to get you. So are you able to balance that scope? It looks like the counterweight is all the way out.

[@MatthewHKnight]

Yeah it's pretty easy to balance all you do is loosen the one knob that will let the tube lay on its side straight if it starts to tilt up or down then there is too much weight forward or to the back you just have to loosen the tube brackets and push the tube up or down until the tube will lay on it's side pointing straight. Then tighten everything down and it should be balanced.

[@lornaz1975]

@@MatthewHKnight I'm referring to the RA balance. There does not seem to be enough counterweight on the shaft. Just wondering if it is able to balance in the RA axis?

[@astrolyfe8097]

When I turn on my motor drive it does not spin but the noise is there so I know its working but it's not spinning.. what do I do

[@MatthewHKnight]

It's likely because the screw is not in the gap like I showed or the telescope isn't balanced correctly you need you loosen that screws on the tube and loosen the knobs for the tube and make sure the telescope doesn't lean when it's on it's sides when you put the telescope to the side it shouldn't move. Should be plenty of videos on showing you how to balance a telescope

[@DoomWalker42]

Can I use this with the Skywatcher Heritage 130P?

[@MatthewHKnight]

Na that telescope is too big for this mount and motor drive.

[@DoomWalker42]

@@MatthewHKnight Is there another motor that is compatible? That's a shame.

[@MatthewHKnight]

@@DoomWalker42 Possibly end up having to buy a dovetail bar of some kinda and maybe a Orion Starseeker IV might hold that OTA. But at that price your better off just buying a new telescope. I've pretty much dropped out of Astronomy no longer have time I got into fishing and planning to move out and finally get a car the weather has been bad the last couple of years my Telescope haven't been out in at least 8 months or more I'm likely gonna end up selling it. The telescope I'm referring to is my Celestron NexStar 5SE I'll likely keep my 80EQ just because it's a qucik grab and go and setup.

[@josephemmanueladriano7413]

Included when you purchase the scope?

[@MatthewHKnight]

Some times not always.

[@josephemmanueladriano7413]

Would you recommend buying that telescope? And the eyepiece have a wide field of view in star clusters, nebulae and planets?

[@MatthewHKnight]

@@josephemmanueladriano7413 I still use it as a grab and go scope but I also have owned other telescopes since. Would I recommend this one yeah just don't expect to see what you see in pictures from NASA. The planets are gonna small in the scope until they're at their closest to Earth. Now some thing like a CPC 1100 will be a mind blowing thing to use. If you've a local astronomy club you should attend a star party maybe they will have telescopes you can check out.

[@josephemmanueladriano7413]

@@MatthewHKnight but the eyepiece have a wide field view and greater details in nebulae,star clusters and planets?? My last question pls

[@MatthewHKnight]

@@josephemmanueladriano7413 The bigger the number the normally means the wider the field of view the lower the number means the smaller the field of view. The only two eyepieces I recommend for this telescope is the Celestron 8-24mm Zoom Eyepiece and like a 40mm Celestron plossl

[@nigelpendred3129]

NIsice video Matt, is your scope not balanced because you have a 2" 'jam jar' in your diagonal !

[@spenglerfilmandvideo2289]

Did it work with EQ1 Mounts?

[@MatthewHKnight]

Don't honestly know you'd have to call celestron

[@GHP15300]

It works for both EQ1 and EQ2

[@andreguimaraes96]

Tks for the video

[@Nottsboy24]

A very useful upload ☺

[@DariusPaveliu]

Does this work with 70az

[@Iannuendo2112]

no

[@dylansmith1118]

What does the motor drive even do??

[@MatthewHKnight]

Allows you to track a night sky object like the Moon or the planets.

[@zombie474]

@@MatthewHKnight what exactly do you mean by track? Like does it find objects or does it stay tracking an object you still have to find?

[@MatthewHKnight]

@@zombie474 It basically just keeps the object within the view of the eyepiece. You must first find the object yourself before you can use the motor drive it's honestly best to use it on a planet or the moon till you're able to get the right tracking speed which should allow everything else you look at stay in view obviously changing the eyepiece or messing with the telescope while it's trying to follow the object will move the object out of view. This is not a goto telescope goto telescopes you do an alignment using stars and that telescope will figure stuff out so it knows how to locate stuff where you're currently.

[@dariotification]

Good job man

[@WaterlandFilms]

great tutorial bro!

[@elroykez]

Were you gonna say England, and then went with Africa? Id have chosen a country in the southern hemisphere soley/ at all... However, thank you for the video, best one so far

[@MatthewHKnight]

I meant Chile, all of New Zealand and Uruguay.

[@mahed82]

Africa is on the North Hemisphere also .

[@MatthewHKnight]

Correct, Southern would be like Australia and New Zealand, I make a bad habit of messing these things up in videos.

[@trance_trousers]

Depends which part of Africa you're referring to. The continent straddles the equator, so part of it is in the northern hemisphere and part of it is in the southern hemisphere.

[@johnh1676]

PPPPPP.

[@salahsana3481]

Good job